The Calm Before The Storm
by PumpkinView
Summary: [CORONA SERIES PART 3] Corona and Penn are super stressed. So how does Penn fix that? With a small vacation to Corona's grandparents' home in Mexico, of course! However, maybe this trip doesn't quite go as planned. On the other end, Marnie fills in the gap in the team, and it just so happens that Sashi may have warm feelings for her...To Boone's dismay. Rated T for so many reasons.
1. Penn's Idea

**After, like, almost 5 months of development hell, and 2 Corona Bombs, I finally made this fic. FINALLY.**

 **Without further ado, I present:**

* * *

The Calm Before The Storm

Chapter One

This latest mission had absolutely kicked Penn and Corona's butts-they won as usual, but nonetheless, it was stressful as hell for the two of them. Corona threw herself onto Penn's bed, sprawled out, her face on his pillow. She groaned loudly.

"Peeeennnnn, undress me and put your pajamas on me. I'm too exhausted to do it myseeeeelf." She whined a little.

"Turn over first."

"But I'm too tireeeed"

Penn sighed, and rolled his eyes in a playful manner, and gently flipped her over onto her back, and pulled her to sitting position.

He pulled her boots off. "Y'know, you're 16 years old, you should consider taking your own shoes off." He joked.

Corona rolled her eyes in an equally playful fashion. "I'll do it when I get my own pajamas." She said, snatching his pajama shirt from the side of the bed, and waving it in his face.

Penn laughed, and unzipped her dress, pulling it off of her. She put on his pajama shirt.

"Button it." She said sticking her tongue out at him.

"Kiss me first."

And she did, she kissed him.

He gently wrapped his arms around her, as he deepened the kiss. He pulled her closer, continuing to gently kiss her.

She broke away for air. "Now button it."

He laughed, and buttoned his pajama shirt. She hugged his shirt on her body, taking in his scent.

"Hey, why sniff my shirt when you can sniff me?" Penn smirked.

Corona laughed. "Sounds weird but okay." She pulled him up against her, and buried her face in the zero logo on his shirt, on his chest.

He chuckled and stroked her now almost black hair. By the end of summer, the purple dye will have completely washed out. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Corona."

"I love you too Penn." She yawned.

It was contagious, soon enough he yawned too. He got out of his clothes. "Maybe tomorrow's mission will be easier on us." He said, turning off the light, and curling up to her.

"Hopefully." She said.

But it wasn't. Oh dear lord, it wasn't.

They came home, beaten, tired, Corona was crying. She hid her face with her hands.

Sure they were successful, but what did it matter? With each mission, they were getting worn down.

The poor exhausted, and very sleep deprived Corona was breaking, soon she'd fall apart. This deeply concerned Penn.

Corona curled up on his bed, putting her head on her knees, her body being racked with sobs and sighs. Penn sighed as well, and sat next to her, gently stroking her hair and back.

"Shh, Corona, everything will be okay, I promise." He wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not that! I…I just…I don't know!" she gripped at Penn's shirt, and cried on him.

He wrapped his arms around her, and gently rocked back in forth at a steady pace, hoping to calm her-seeing her like this made him feel a deep sadness.

Then, out of what felt like nowhere, Penn's aunt Rose practically burst in.

"Phone for Corona. I assume. I'm not sure, I don't speak Spanish." She said

Penn took the phone from his aunt.

"Corona, I think there's a phone call for you." He said gently, and quietly.

Corona unburied her face from his chest and sniffled a bit. "O-okay." She took the phone.

Whoever was on the other line, they made Corona smile. Penn smiled in response.

"Sí, abuela, yo te echo de menos" she said.

She proceeded to have a conversation in Spanish with whom Penn assumed is Corona's grandmother. Penn smiled brightly, he was so happy to see her smiling and laughing.

Then he got a crazy idea. He smirked. Corona noticed his smirk, though she assumed he meant something else, and smirked back, kissing him on the lips.

He blushed.

He just hoped this idea would work out for him…

~u~

The very next morning, Corona woke up, she stretched out, and yawned.

Penn was hovering over her.

She giggled. "Penn, why do you have that giant smile on your face?"

"Well…I did some digging around…a few phone calls…a quick run out…aaaand…" he held up two plane tickets.

"Are those…plane tickets?"

"Yes!" he shook, excitedly.

"Where?"

"To Mexico. To see your grandparents!"

Corona laughed. "Penn, we can't just drop _everything_ to see my grandparents. Believe me, I want to see them, but, heroing, remember?"

"I worked it out with Phyllis."

"Wait, wait….Phyllis is _letting_ us go?"

"Yes, she said she'd just have Marnie fill in."

"But what about packing?"

"I packed for you."

"When do we leave?"

"In an hour."

"Oh my god Penn…you planned _all_ of this last night?"

"Yes."

Corona played with a button on Penn's pajama shirt while she evaluated that this was actually a real thing that was happening.

"Well? Aren't you gonna get dressed? We have to get to the airport…"

"Y-yeah give me a sec." She got up and went to the bathroom to do her daily routine.

She was excited about the trip, yes. But she was scared, for whatever reason, that something bad might just happen.

She unbuttoned Penn's pajama shirt and let it fall to the ground, as she turned on the shower, adjusting the water and getting in.

Her concerns went away as the warm water hitting her back soothed her sore and tired body, she only thought about the smell of cherry blossom shampoo.

Even more purple hair dye washed out with the foam of the shampoo, and then she got out of the shower. That was out of the way.

She dried off, and got dressed, in something floral and form fitting, as she usually wore. She applied her make up.

She left Penn's bathroom. "I'm ready…aren't you gonna shower?"

"There's no time for that."

"Penn, you smell like sweat."

"Okay fine, I'll take a quick one."

Then, after Penn's quick shower, they headed to the airport.

As the plane took off, Corona hoped this trip would ease her stress, rather than make things worse, like the small feeling in her gut kept trying to tell her it would.

~u~

3-15-18-15-14-1-19 14-9-7-8-20-13-1-18-5-19 13-5-1-14 13-21-3-8 13-15-18-5, 23-8-1-20 4-15-5-19 20-8-5 6-21-20-21-18-5 8-1-22-5 9-14 19-20-15-18-5

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 **Yes, that's right, I'm adding _ciphers._ They have tidbits about the story, characters, maybe even stuff that could be relevant later on...or maybe it's all jokes. You never know what you'll get. Anyways, get ready, cause, honey you got a big storm comin'**


	2. There's a First Time For Everything

The Calm Before The Storm

Chapter Two

Boone and Sashi walked into the Odyssey, and took position on the zap platform. But then, they looked around and realized…

"Hey, where's Penn and Corona?" Boone tilted his head in confusion.

"They are on vacation."

"WHAT?!"

"How come _THEY_ get a vacation and we don't?!" Sashi growled.

"They notify me 24 hour in advance." Phyllis replied "Do not worry. I have substitute hero."

And then she walked through the door.

She was a vision, with tan skin, platinum blonde hair, lavender eyes, and a smirk that said "I've been a hero _at least_ a year longer than you have."

"M-Marnie…H-hi…" Sashi rubbed the back of her head, a blush on her cheeks.

Boone had a blank expression.

"Oh, hey Sash, what's up." Marnie got onto the hero spot on the zap platform.

"N-not much, I mean…Wait what about your team?"

"Oh, Jack can handle it for a week, he's been studying." Marnie shrugged.

The 3 of them zapped in.

~u~

Corona rested her head on Penn's shoulder during the flight, she was staring out the window with a dreamy smile on her face.

Penn held her hand, caressing it with his thumb, smiling at her. He kissed her head.

Soon enough, the plane landed. They took a cab to Corona's grandparents' home from the airport.

Corona's grandparents' home was a fairly nice house. It was pretty big, and had a beautiful garden out-front. It was an adobe style house.

An elderly couple walked out, and proceeded to hug Corona, and greet her in Spanish. She replied to them, and pointed to Penn, and couple proceeded to hug him as well. They led Penn and Corona inside, and Corona took a seat on a wicker couch that had probably the most soft cushions you could imagine. It was almost like sitting on a cloud. Penn sat down next to her.

Corona told her grandparents everything that had happened in the past year, at least that's what Penn assumed. He didn't know a whole lot of Spanish, but he recognized enough words to know that she must have been talking about the past few months. He sat there smiling at her.

She smiled back. She finished talking, and her grandparents got up, to go cook dinner.

Corona stood up. "Let's go unpack our suitcases in our room." She took his hand and led him to their shared room.

Of course, the moment they stepped through the door, Penn threw himself onto their bed. The quilt on the bed was incredibly soft, and smelled of fabric softener in a vanilla-like scent.

Corona giggled a bit.

Penn rolled over onto his back.

Corona threw herself onto him and placed her lips on his.

His hands found their way to her waist, and he wrapped his arms around her, and rolled over, so now he was on top. He kissed more, trailing down from her lips, to her neck.

She giggled, and blushed profusely.

" _Penn!"_ she practically squeaked out his name as he nibbled her neck.

"I love you so much." He murmured in between kisses.

"I love you too" she giggled.

He pulled back, and smirked at her.

"I want you." He said in a breathy, desperate tone of voice.

"What?" Corona barely squeaked out, blushing. "Penn, what if my grandparents walk in?" she blushed even more.

"Well…I guess it can wait a few hours…" he looked to the side.

She blushed even more.

"U-unless you don't want too…" he didn't want to freak her out.

"I'm not saying no…I just….Did you bring protection?"

"…Yes…" He was a little scared that would make it sound like he just planned the whole trip around them having their first time.

"Oh, good."

Now he was blushing. Was that a yes? Did she just say yes?

"…Was that a yes?"

"Yes, but not right now…at least wait for them to go to bed…"

He blushed even more.

Soon, Corona's grandparents called them for dinner.

~u~

Corona was lying in a field, under the stars. Everything was calm.

Or at least it _was_ calm.

 _The storm is coming._

Corona chose to ignore said warning the first time. Maybe she just misheard. I mean, the wind can sound awfully weird….

 _The storm is coming._

There was a stronger gust of wind, and Corona stood up.

Soon enough, the wind picked up. Corona's dress floated in the wind. She sighed.

 _The storm is coming._

Corona frowned. What? Was the storm some wind? Wind wasn't a problem.

 _The storm is coming, run._

"Why?"

 _Run! Run and those you love can survive!_

Corona was doubtful. She wasn't going to run.

 _CORONA, RUN!_

The voice….it had such an eerie quality to it…so familiar…wait…

"Penn?" Corona turned around.

A very beaten and battered Penn panted.

Corona squinted towards him, and walked towards him.

"RUN!"

"Penn? What's going on"

"RUN!" Penn dissolved.

Corona gasped, and shook awake.

~u~

The whole day, Corona tried to wrap her mind around that dream, as she ate breakfast. It wasn't as bad as past nightmares, but, this storm? What was it?

Her dreams often did have the ability to predict or warn her of things, after all, that's how she knew Penn was alive when she had thought he'd died, and this is why her dream concerned her…

Corona's anguish must have been visible to Penn, as he frowned towards her.

"Corona are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me Penn." Is all she said in reply. She stood up and walked away from the table, and out onto the patio.

Penn followed. "Corona, you know you can tell me _anything_ "

"Okay, I killed a man."

"What?!"

"Not really, Penn." She sighed.

"Well, I certainly _hope_ not."

"But, _no_ nothing is bothering me."

He could tell this wasn't entirely true, but he felt there wasn't really any reason to pester her about it. He could tell it would be hard to get her to say anything.

Corona wrote about her dream in her notebook. She decided, maybe she could figure out what was happening if she paid attention to the patterns.

~u~

After about 2 or so missions with Marnie, Boone was actually starting to get a little sick of her. He rarely got sick of people, but Marnie was really testing him-and it wasn't that he hated her, per se, it's just…He wasn't too comfortable with her and Sashi's new-found "friendship".

They had just zapped back.

"Wow, Marnie, I really like how we took down that giant monster together…." Sashi smiled to Marnie, and giggled a little.

Marnie giggled back and rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, hey, more hands makes lighter work." Marnie smirked a little.

Boone rolled his eyes.

"Boone, are you okay?" Sashi raised an eyebrow.

Did Boone just _roll his eyes_? That was an unusual thing for him to do…

"I'm fine." Boone lied.

"So, Sash, wanna hang out at my place?" Marnie asked, smiling.

"I'd love to." Sashi giggled in the same way that she did about Blaze.

Boone frowned. None of Sashi's other _crushes,_ if this could be compared, had bugged him this way.

After all, at the end of the day, Teddy wouldn't date Sashi because she had hit him in the face.

Blaze was in a completely different dimension, so there wasn't him to worry about either.

But Marnie was right there. Marnie wasn't going anywhere for the moment…And Sashi, for once, wasn't reacting to Marnie's existence with aggression. This was so unusual for Sashi, she was always so angry and aggressive, for the past 2 years he'd known her.

But suddenly, Marnie comes along and changes it? That almost seemed like a bad fanfiction trait! What next? Was Marnie going to be revealed to be hyperpowered? Boone would really be pissed in that case.

As he walked home, all he could think about was how Marnie bugged him. What he didn't realize was, this bubbling feeling inside of him was jealousy.

~u~

Corona had avoided Penn almost all day. She seemed to be in her own thoughts.

"Corona, talk to me!"

No response. She didn't seem to be responding to him at all.

"Corona."

Nothing.

"Cor!" Penn groaned a little. He was a little worried. Was he that bad in bed? She didn't ignore him like this before they'd done it….

"What?" Corona seemed to snap out of it a little bit.

"Corona, you've been ignoring me all day! Please tell me if something is wrong!"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just….tired…." she lied to him.

He frowned, and leaned over to her, kissing her on the forehead.

"Corona, I can tell something's wrong, please, please, please don't keep quiet." He hugged her "I want you to be _happy"_ he sighed

She sighed as well. Hearing that from him almost made her feel worse. Both about keeping this dream she had a secret, and just in general.

She felt like she didn't really…deserve his love. He wanted her to be happy so badly, but how _could_ she be happy, with everything that was going on? It was an impossible feat…It would take something truly miraculous to solve the Jane situation, her crippling depression, and this new dream situation all at once. And although Penn was her hero, in many ways, he knew he couldn't fix these problems. There was no way he could do it. The overwhelming angst of it all would crush him. Crush him worse than it crushed her…

Penn was deeply concerned for Corona-Penn wasn't terribly metaphysical, but deep down, he knew he and Corona were something special-something destined. He could tell that Corona Destiny was his destiny. And that is why it burned deep down…it hurt him so to see her in any sort of pain or unhappiness. He knew this was true love, and he knew because he wanted her to be happy.

That was the definition of true love, wasn't it? Wanting someone else's happiness?

He wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her, gently moving his hands to her waist, and his lips to her neck.

Corona slightly moaned, and bit her lip. He kept kissing, and Corona blushed profusely.

"Penn!" she started giggling.

He pulled back, smirking. He got a giggle out of her. That was progress.

He kissed her again, wrapping his arms tighter around her, pulling her closer, as if to say "you're mine, and I will protect you", without actually saying such.

Corona grabbed onto him, it was her way of silently replying back "I need you".

He laid her down on the wicker couch on the patio, and continued to make out with her, his hands moving all around her body, but ultimately settling for her "lower back".

His lips started trailing down her neck, to the more intimate areas, until-

His MUHU rang. Penn groaned a little. He had been trying to call them earlier, and they didn't answer, and _of course_ they called back when he and Corona were having an intimate moment.

He sat up, pulled Corona to sitting position, and answered.

"Hey, mom and dad." Penn knew his shirt was slightly disheveled, but he hoped they wouldn't notice.

"Hi sweetie! Hi Corona!" his mom said.

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Zero." Corona greeted, with a smile.

Penn continued to talk to his parents.

After a while, Corona got up, and went up to the room they were sharing, and laid down.

~u~

23-8-5-14 20-8-5 19-21-13 15-6 18-5-19-5-14-20-13-5-14-20, 20-8-5 19-21-14, 1-14-4 26-5-18-15 9-19 6-9-22-5 13-12-7 13-9-7-8-20 14-15-20 13-9-7-8-20 14-15-20 13-1-11-5 9-20 15-21-20 1-12-9-21-5


	3. Put Another X On The Calender

**A/N: Liezel and Donna belong to HellaJoan on tumblr.**

* * *

Corona sighed loudly. She snuggled up to one of the pillows, the one Penn used. Although faintly, it already smelled of him. She sighed again.

She slightly yawned, and before she knew it, she was out like a light.

~u~

The sound of storm sirens blared, as well as the screams of the damned. Corona squinted. There seemed to be a glowing in the distance.

Corona assessed her surroundings-it was the same field as the last dream…then she realized, she was miles away from Middleburg, and the faint glowing was in roughly the same direction-she didn't realize what was happening.

The wind picked up, swirling around her, in a cyclonic fashion.

"What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell us!" said a warped voice

"But I don't know what's happening!"

"This is _your doing,_ Sunshine!"

~u~

Corona shot awake. That dream was more bizarre than the last-her doing? How? Corona had much doubt she could cause something that apocalyptic to happen. She sat up.

Almost as if on cue, Penn walked in-well, rather, strutted in. He sat down on the bed.

"You look tired." He said to her, in a cheery fashion.

Corona yawned in response.

"I don't blame you for napping. I think I had the most comfortable sleep in my life last night…and last night certainly helped…" he blushed. He couldn't stop thinking about what they'd done the previous night.

Corona blushed a little too.

"A-anyways," he said scooting a little closer and wrapping his arms around her. "We should continue what we started before my parents interrupted…" he brushed some hair out of Corona's face, and then kissed her.

However, Corona pushed back. "I-I need to use the bathroom…" She got up and went to the bathroom. She didn't actually need to use the bathroom.

Penn frowned. Now he was seriously concerned. It seemed like this had something to do with what they did.

Corona locked the door, and then sat on the edge of the tub. She pulled out her notebook and started writing down the details of this dream.

She wrote "The Storm" over and over again, noting that a recurring trend in the dreams, was, well, a literal storm.

 _Storm sirens, wind, cyclones_.

But the warped voice….It sounded like something out of a nightmare, but not quite. Something about the voice seemed…humorous? Almost as if the one speaking found this amusing in some way. She noted that as well.

She came out of the bathroom.

Penn was still frowning. "Corona…am I bad in bed?"

Corona was taken aback to the question. "No."

"Then why are you being so distant? You're never like this."

"I'm sorry. I've…I've just been…" She tried to think of what to say….she gulped. She knew if she brought up these dreams it'd ruin their vacation. So she needed to keep it a secret. "I've been stressed…about Jane."

"Corona, Jane is back in Middleburg. For this week, you're free of her." Penn stood up, and walked over to Corona, and took her hand. "Please, at least for this week, relax. I'll do anything to make you happy." He put his hand to her cheek. "And I mean _anything,_ Corona."

"Including-"

"No, Corona, I won't kill a man! What is with this sudden dark humor?!" Penn was actually concerned Corona was finding murder funny.

Well, she didn't find it _funny,_ per se, but for some reason, his confusion and annoyance were a little bit…cute to her.

She giggled a little and kissed him on the cheek. "Ohhh, Penn, you're so cute."

Penn blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm…I'm not _that_ cute…You're way cuter than I am….I mean your eyes…they're huge…that's cute…."

Corona laughed.

"No really, your eyes are just…wow…" he wasn't lying about that. Her eyes were, indeed, 'wow'. They were a shade of sea green that made him get lost-like a ship without a sense of direction. It made him melt, like the icecaps.

"Are you going to keep staring at my eyes or….?"

"Huh? Oh, oh yeah that's right." He kissed her. He kissed her even more after that.

She giggled.

He picked her up, grunting slightly since she was a bit heavier than he could lift, and gently laid her onto the bed, getting on top of her.

"Penn!" she blushed

He smirked and kissed her.

She pulled him closer, into a deep hug. Penn giggled a little bit.

She refused to let go. "I love you, Penn Zero."

"Well, I love you, Corona Mason." He kissed her on the forehead.

She continued to hold onto him.

"You can let go now…."

"Nah."

"O-okay. I guess I don't mind then." He hugged back.

~u~

Back in Middleburg, it was the 4th mission with Marnie filling in as leader. The moment they zapped back, they were greeted by another teen.

"Mar! You totally rocked in there!"

"Liezel!" Marnie ran over to the bright blue haired girl.

They exchanged a hug as well as some sort of secret handshake.

"You guys have met Liezel."

"Hi." Sashi gave a small wave.

Boone rolled his eyes a little, since Marnie still had him in a shit mood.

Sashi walked over to Marnie and Liezel. Boone sighed a bit. He still felt the slightly angry tingly feeling. He was still unsure what it meant. He'd never felt this way before, but Marnie brought it out. The way she was getting close to Sashi made him terribly…empty inside. She seemed to get the good side out of Sashi…but how? Sashi was never this friendly and bubbly towards anyone! Even people she liked! But yet, Marnie managed to turn Sashi sweeter than artificially sweetened bubblegum with extra sugar-and it drove Boone nuts. Why didn't _he_ make Sashi feel this way? Sashi and Marnie hadn't met until training, back when Jane became a villain. So he'd known Sashi 2 years longer than Marnie did…but yet in such a short amount of time, Marnie had somehow inspired some sort of unnatural change to Sashi's behavior.

Boone groaned and sighed as he watched Sashi leave with Marnie and Liezel.

~u~

Sashi Kobayashi walked alongside Marnie Marinos and Liezel Mays, talking about life, mostly.

Marnie was recounting a time that Nell, her villain, had a shit fit and screamed at her henchman Donna, and minion Audrey. Sashi laughed a little. Nell seemed so much like Jane, she was sure Corona would have found it amusing had she been there.

Marnie got to her house. She finished talking to Sashi, then they said their goodbyes, and Marnie and Liezel went in. Sashi made her way home.

Her cheeks felt warm…She didn't know how to explain what she felt, since she'd never felt this way before…sure Blaze made her smile, and she'd crushed before…but Marnie was different, so different. She felt a rush of positive feelings whenever she made eye contact with Marnie, and her cheeks grew warm without fail….Was this love? No, no it couldn't be…but how was Sashi to know? She'd never really been in love, per se…

But yet here she was, going crazy over Marnie…She just couldn't explain it.

~u~

Corona and Penn had just finished another round of fun, and were panting. Penn snuggled up to Corona, brush some hair out of her face and kissing her.

"That was a lot more fun the second time…" he blushed.

"Y-yeah…" she agreed, giggling a little bit.

He kissed her again. The two of them sat up.

"Honestly, Corona, at this point, I can't imagine my life without you." He hugged her close. "I almost don't even believe that there _was_ a time when we weren't together…."

"Jane sucks for separating us when we were 9…"

He pulled back. "That doesn't matter, I mean…we're here, together, now. Who cares about the past, Cor? You're here with me now, and that's all that matters." He held her close again, kissing the top of her head.

She blushed again. Penn tightened the hug, in an almost desperate way.

"I just…love you so much…." He didn't ever want to let go.

Corona sighed. It was a happy enough sounding sigh, but deep down, Corona worried about her dreams. She just hoped this would stop.

She didn't want to ruin her and Penn's vacation. She just, so desperately, wanted everything to be perfect for once.

But that just wasn't the direction it was going to go.


	4. Why Am I The One?

Once again, the words "Corona, run!" echoed through her head, in yet another dream. These dreams refused to stop, and every moment she was asleep, she dreamt about this mysterious storm. Corona was no closer to unlocking the mystery.

She sighed; it was early morning by now, about 5 am, since she awoke from another of those dreams. She didn't wake Penn because he needed the rest, and he was too adorable when asleep. The faint sunlight that seeped in through the blinds gleamed on the triangular pendant that sat on the side table. The triangular pendant resembled the all-seeing eye-a Masonic symbol, and appropriately enough, was the Mason family's symbol.

She sighed again. She didn't feel it was worth it to try and sleep anymore. It was already 5 am, and she didn't want to have another of those dreams. But she still snuggled up to Penn.

Penn smiled in his sleep and wrapped his arms around her, and Corona put her face to his bare chest. She listened to his heart beat, and his breathing. It was so soothing to her. She sighed a third time, but this time, it was too loud, and Penn shook awake.

"Huh? Morning Corona." He kissed her.

Next thing she knew, he was on top of her, lips against her neck, hands on her waist.

"Penn~" she sighed dreamily.

He pulled back, smirking at her.

"Oh, you." She smirked back and pulled him closer.

"Oh, me, what?" he smirked, kissing her again.

She hugged him tight. She didn't want to let go of him, ever. She just wanted everything to be perfect, like this moment was. She wanted it to be as perfect as any moment he was there, was. She was far from okay, but she wasn't certainly less in pain when he was there. She needed him, she needed him oh so desperately…She felt as if life was unbearable without his presence…Wait…Was this healthy?

Corona was brought to yet another worry.

"Are you okay?" Penn knew her all too well, to know when anything was even slightly off-and boy something was certainly off.

"Y-yeah I'm…I'm good." Corona worried…Just now did she become aware of her dependency on him. At least, she thought she was dependent on him-she wasn't quite sure, she wasn't the best judge on this.

"Corona, please, you've been so distant and weird during this trip. There's 3 days left. Tell me what's wrong, I'll fix it. I want you to be happy."

She looked to the side.

Penn pouted. She looked back, and pouted back to him.

He moved hair out of her face. "Corona." He gently demanded she tell him what's wrong.

Corona just slid out from under him and went to the bathroom.

Penn frowned. He had his own fears to deal with. Deep down, he had a fear she was falling out of love with him.

He watched her walk into the bathroom and lock the door, and then rolled onto his back, and sighed. Was she tired of him? She'd never been like this before-even when she'd briefly feared him back when Rippen and Jane had brainwashed him. Usually she would be all over him, telling him everything, and now, she was secretive, more quiet than usual, and refusing to be around him. She seemed to have a deep trouble, but how was he to know for sure if she wouldn't even tell him what's wrong. He sighed again, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom.

He got out of bed, stretching out and yawning.

"Cor, I need to use the bathroom."

Corona, who had been sitting on the (closed) toilet, hugging her knees, trying to figure out what to do about Penn, reluctantly stood up, unlocked the door, and let him in. She left the bathroom and got back in bed, covering herself with the quilt.

Penn came back minutes later, getting back in bed. He laid on his side. He didn't snuggle Corona.

And now she worried.

"Penn?"

"Hm?"

She sighed. She turned over, on her side, facing the opposite direction than he was. She stared at the white stucco wall's detail, and sighed more.

Penn felt a pain in his chest. He loved her, but did she even love him anymore? He loved her so much, and he couldn't even think of not having her in his life. He could almost say…maybe he was dependent on her. He needed her, he knew this much. He didn't even care what others would say about this-sure it might not be the healthiest thing, but god, he needed her.

But if she didn't want him anymore, who was he to put her through his presence.

He got out of bed again and started getting dressed, and packing.

Corona heard him. "Penn, what are you doing?"

"Packing. You don't want me here."

"Don't be ridiculous." She got out of bed as well, and hugged him.

"But-But you're acting so weird! You're never like this…."

She frowned. "Penn, I love you." Her voice got hoarse, like it always did, when she was about to cry.

Penn gulped, feeling the tightness in his throat. He hugged back.

"Penn, I want you here. This is supposed to be our vacation-I-I'm so sorry I-I've been like this-"

"No, I'm sorry…I just want you to be happy so badly…I just…" he hugged tighter, protectively, desperately, and he had no intention of letting go.

Corona held onto him equally as tight, and started crying. Penn actually cried too-possibly the first time he ever cried in front of her.

"Corona…I-I need you…I can't explain it…I just…You're the one, okay? I never…I never want you to go away…I-I was so scared wh-when…" He glanced at the partially packed suitcase, clothes strewn about, all around it. "As scared as I was when you got crushed by the rocks."

Corona sniffled. He never talked about how he felt-nor did he talk about fear.

"Corona…I know I pretend to be brave all the time but…I-I'm as scared as you are. Jane terrifies me…I-I don't want her to separate us…" he held tighter.

"Penn, she won't, I won't let her. I'm never leaving you." She caressed his cheek with the back of her hand. "I need you too."

Penn kissed her.

They'd had many good kisses, but this one…this one was the best one. It was true… mostly… Except for one little important detail…

"C-Corona…I told you about my fear…c-can you tell me what's wrong? Please?"

"O-okay…" she sighed a little "This whole time, I've been having bad dreams…and not my usual nightmares…"

"What?" Penn said with concern.

"W-well…" She described the dreams in great detail. She read everything she'd written down about them to him, including showing him a few of the doodles she'd drawn of things she saw in the dreams.

Penn's jaw dropped. He was right. Something had been wrong…and it was one hell of a something. "O-oh Corona…You should have told me before…I-I…"

"Don't worry Penn. From now, I'll be honest when something's wrong…" she said, except…the crossed fingers behind her back said otherwise…


	5. Just A Little Bit Psychic

Sashi laid back on her bed. She had to assess whatever feelings she was having for Marnie. She'd been friends with Marnie for a while, ever since that training mission 2 months before, before Penn had "died". They got along pretty well-Marnie didn't seem to mind Sashi's aggressiveness at all. She didn't fear her, or even flinch when Sashi would punch things out of frustration. Marnie would just smile and find more things for Sashi to punch. And this made Sashi feel…so weird. Similar to how Blaze made her feel, but more intense. More…longing. Almost like she'd met someone who finally understood her-Wasn't that how Penn described Corona? Well, that was different, wasn't it? Penn had known Corona his whole life, meanwhile she'd known Marnie all of 2 months.

She heard the text tone she'd set for Marnie bleep on her phone. She smiled, without realizing it, and grabbed the cellphone and replied to Marnie. She giggled a little at what Marnie sent in return, and proceeded to have a long text conversation.

~u~

Corona had to be sneakier.

There was no other way to go about keeping this secret, now that Penn knew. She'd have to pretend that the dreams had miraculously gone away, somehow. She couldn't let Penn be worried about her. He had his own worries, and problems. Like his parents, for example.

Penn usually brushed off his parents being stuck in another dimension, he'd say things like "Well, I'm lucky to have parents, I can't complain…" usually to minimize his own issues, since after all, Corona was an orphan.

Of course, this was a commonly forgotten fact by Corona herself. Her cousin Lenore and her family, after all, almost felt like family to her. More family than Jane ever was…As well as the summers previously, she'd spent here in Mexico.

She finished brushing her now, almost black and just a tad bit longer than past her elbows length hair, and set the brush down. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, and squinted.

"Why do my bangs do that curly thing anyways?" she had a moment of almost depersonalization. She felt…fictional…

She shook out of it. That felt terrible.

Penn entered the room, fresh out of the shower, his fiery red curls still sopping wet. He had a towel around his waist, probably since he was still shy around Corona-cause he was well Corona didn't care if he wore clothes around her or not, not like she was paying attention to him at the moment anyways.

Corona stood up from the vanity and walked towards him, and hugged him. She figured if she showed him _extra_ affection he would stay off her case about the dreams.

"Corona…" he giggled.

She kissed his cheek, which made him blush red-about the same intensity, but not the same shade as his hair. She smirked at him, narrowing her sea green eyes.

Penn encircled her with his arms, placing his lips on hers. Corona put her hands on his smooth chest. Penn loved the taste of her lips-it must have been the lipstick she used or maybe it was just _her_ because he could stop staring at, or kissing her bright red lips.

"I love you" he said, grasping her tightly.

Corona got in his lap, and held his face in her hand. "I love you too."

Penn hugged her tight, and snuggled. He loved her deeply. He loved her so deeply he had to reaffirm this on a chapterly basis.

He kissed her nose, which made her giggle and hold him tighter. He pinned her down to the bed and kissed her all over her face.

"Penn, stop!" she giggled more.

"Yeah, maybe I should…I need to get dressed…" He got up and grabbed his clothes. He went for his usual thing, the black and white baseball tee bearing his family's symbol, the zero with a slash, and his red skinny jeans.

When Penn was dressed, Corona practically jumped onto him and buried her face in the logo on his shirt. Penn chuckled. Corona leaned back, and smiled.

Corona kissed Penn's cheek, and smiled.

He was glad that his parents had been friends with hers. Sure, that's a seemingly weird thing to be happy about, but if their parents hadn't been friends, their lives would be vastly different. He probably wouldn't even know her, and he just couldn't imagine living in a world like that. He couldn't imagine a life without her, or without having known her for almost all of it.

She could be considered his best friend, almost. Sure Boone officially held the title of BFFL, but Corona's always been there…well minus 6 years, but she was always there for the time she wasn't in Canada or Mexico.

He snuggled her. They went out for the day to sight see.

~u~

They concluded sightseeing with a trip to the beach. Corona went into the water, to swim, but then…

Corona found herself drowning…Rather quickly, actually. This was weird…Corona knew how to swim. But she found herself failing to move…wait…if she was drowning how come she could breathe? Her necklace glowed in the dark depths of the water, and she heard laughing…What on earth was fucking going on here?

 _The storm is coming sooner than you think…watch out for your precious zero-hero…don't trust…anyone…the merge will be upon us in time!_

 _Don't trust anyone! Don't trust anyone! Don't trust-_ _LI RQOB BRX NQHZ PB GHDU, KRZ L OLYH PB OLIH LQ IHDU -GRQ'W WUB WR VOHHS WKURXJK WKH HQG RI WKH ZRUOG -WKH PDVRQV DUHQW DV LQQRFHQW DV BRX WKRXJKW MDQHV HYLO ZDV RQOB WDXJKW -OLYLQJ LQ WKH VWDWH RI GUHDPLQJ, OLYLQJ LQ D PDNH EHOLHYH ODQG -LI BRX ORYH PH OHW PH JR -FRURQD'V KDSSLQHVV LV QRQHALVWDQW LI MDQH UHPDLQV VR SHUVLVWHQW_

Corona was freaked out by the gibberish being screamed at her in a shrill tone. What on earth was it saying? She didn't know. As far as she was concerned it was the equivalent of spamming the chat-room with a picture of a "trendy" frog.

"CORONA!" a voice called to her.

Corona wasn't sure if the voice was one of those voices…or if it was real. But soon enough she felt herself be grabbed from behind, and pulled out of the water, and set on the sand.

Penn leaned over her. "Corona, are you okay? You almost drowned…" Penn's voice had a tone of panic and deep concern.

Corona coughed, and spit out some water. Well, more than "some." Let's just say "a hella lot" of water.

Penn was breathing heavily, and hugged her. "Oh god, I-I'm so worried…I-I thought I wasn't going to get you out in time…I…We…We should get back to your grandparents home…"

Corona tried to stand up.

"No, no I'm going to carry you." Penn picked up Corona, and struggled to walk all the way back to her grandparents' home.

With that, Corona decided this was too much, and even if she didn't want to trouble Penn, she really had no choice.

She _had_ to be honest from this point on.

~u~

"Penn, back in the water…something really weird happened…"

"You were probably hallucinating from not being able to breathe…" Penn was still worried about how she'd almost drowned.

"Well…maybe but…I'm concerned…"

"What happened?"

"It was like my dreams, but without the imagery…It was just the voices. They told me not to trust anyone…And they told me to "watch out" for you….And then they said something about a "merge"…and the weirdest part was probably when they started screaming gibberish at me…"

Penn didn't know how to reply.

"A-and my necklace…it…glowed…" she put her hand on the triangular charm.

Penn was almost in disbelief. What was going on? This had to be something supernatural…as for _The Merge_ that she mentioned…The closest Penn could think of was something similar to that time that the MUT had malfunctioned and brought all of those people from other dimensions…

"What if…The Merge means the dimensions merging together?" Penn suggested.

"Maybe…but…I'm…I'm scared." Corona looked down. Corona knew she must have had some sort of psychic ability-there was the time that she'd somehow made a connection with Penn, which is how she knew he was alive…or before that, when she'd had the nightmare that he died, and then the incident led up to her thinking she was dead.

And then there was _countless_ times that her prophetic dreams had helped her cousin Lenore's boyfriend with his personal problems, back in Canada.

Corona was deeply worried.

That night when she went to sleep she was exhausted, just from stressing over the dream problem.

~u~

Corona was floating in a void. Again her necklace glowed, and, somehow, it unlatched and floated away. Corona tried to grab it but, she couldn't seem to grab it.

It glowed even brighter-and seemed to grow in size and become more life-like. Corona shielded her eyes, until she remembered-none of this is real, the light can't really blind her.

There was demonic laughing-almost like a double voice, something high pitched and deep at the same time.

"I'm coming for you sunshine!" the same voice said

The light turned to a distinctly triangular shape, and Corona shook awake.

She breathed heavily. She'd wait till the morning to tell Penn.


End file.
